Weekly Roundup: 🚨 Dividend Danger & Austin's 71k Housing Shake-up: Must-Read Insights 🏗️

September 18th, 2023 News Brief TLDR:

1. Financial Pitfall Alert: Avoid Medical Properties and Brandywine REITs this September. 🚨

2. Historic Zoning Deadlock: Planning Commission stalls on Griffin House decision. 🏛️

3. Housing Revolution: Austin considers slashing compatibility buffers for 71,000 new homes. 🏗️

4. Sustainable Living: Lloyd Alter champions 'radical sufficiency' in home building. 🌱

FINANCIAL & INVESTMENT INSIGHTS

Don't Fall for These High-Yield Dividend Stocks in September. Avoid Them Like The Plague

Source: Fool.com

Summary: Two real estate investment trusts (REITs), Medical Properties Trust and Brandywine Realty Trust, currently seem to be risky investments due to some concerning financial indicators — Brandywine may soon reduce its payout, and Medical Properties Trust's high debt load and the escalating hex of a potential dividend trap puts their status in danger too.

Why this matters: Understanding the risks and benefits of investing in REITs like Brandywine Realty Trust and Medical Properties Trust will significantly benefit Texas real estate professionals in guiding their clients with comprehensive knowledge and judgment on whether these are potential investments or properties worth considering.

SPI Advisory Acquires 244-Unit Parkview Terraces Apartment Community in Austin's South Congress Entertainment District Area

Source: MultiFamilyBiz.com

Summary: SPI Advisory, a private equity firm specializing in multifamily real estate, has acquired the 244-unit Parkview Terraces apartment community, previously known as Cortland Southpark Terraces, located less than five miles from Austin’s South Congress entertainment district in Texas. This purchase means the Austin culmination of the firm’s assets now reaches almost 2,500 units. Observations indicate population growth around the property and relatively high average household income thus positioning the property conveniently close to major employment, retail, and entertainment centers. The acquisition forms part of SPI Advisory's expanded Austin market presence strategy and indicates belief in future growth in this particular area.

Why this matters: Understanding hearty acquisitions in local markets, just as SPI Advisory has just done with Parkview Terraces, helps commercial real estate professionals better assimilate local market dynamics, predict growth areas, and retail price changes, which ultimately allow them to circumstantially position their clients for success.

URBAN PLANNING & ZONING

Planning Commission takes a pass on District 10 historic zoning recommendation

Source: AustinMonitor.com

Summary: The planning commission failed to align on a decision regarding the historic zoning proposal for the Griffin House at 2502 Jarratt Avenue, Old West Austin, splitting the commissioners evenly. The property once housed notable former attorney and judge Meade F. Griffin. Despite alterations, the house is considered to retain its 1930’s architectural character, with preservationists asserting that the modifications don't hamper the property's architectural importance. With the commission failing to reach a consensus, the zoning case will advance without their recommendation.

Why this matters: Given Austin's penchant for rapid development paired with a desire to maintain historical authenticity, understanding the ongoing challenges and potential rewards of zoning modifications brings a broader understanding to commercial real estate practitioners, helping their clients more effectively navigate historical designation and development rights and add unique value to transactions.

City could reduce compatibility buffers to 75 feet to encourage new housing

Source: AustinMonitor.com

Summary: Austin's city staff has recommended reducing the height restrictions for buildings near single-family homes after examining how these restrictions could potentially increase housing availability, especially near transit corridors. Based on their findings, reducing the buffer around these triggering properties to 75 feet would allow more than 71,000 new homes to be constructed as part of taller buildings that are presently barred due to strict city compatibility requirements. The proposal also includes relaxing compatibility requirements for certain property classifications, intending to meet the city's commitment to its 2017 Strategic Housing Blueprint. The blueprint calls for the addition of 135,000 housing units with various affordability by 2027. The proposal to relax compatibility norms is voted in by the Council but faces suspicion over its density bonus programs.

Why this matters: As Austin city's potential reduction in height restrictions and relaxed compatibility requirements could see the resurgence of formerly stifled projects, commercial real estate agents have to revise their approach to find high capacity projects around transit corridors near single-family homes for their clients for more dynamic target market experiences.

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE & CLIMATE IMPACT

Interview With Lloyd Alter

Source: GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

Summary: Lloyd Alter, a passionate advocate for sustainable architecture, offers critical insights into making important climate-conscious decisions in the home building industry. Alter emphasizes the concept of 'radical sufficiency' meaning using fewer resources in house building through choices like opting for smaller, simpler designs, making best use of less material, increase the practice of house partitioning for better space utilization, and reducing our individual carbon footprints to tackle climate change issues more effectively. He advocates for speedy amendments in minute structural elements to make a significant and collective difference with less focus on grand scale shifts in construction methodology or materials alone and more on the balance striking between consumption and production carbon footprint.

Why this matters: Alter's perspectives are potent predictors of market pools real estate professionals in Austin, Texas might cater to in the near future, with implications for strategic direction conversations with potential clients seeking sustainable residential or commercial property options or planning for climate resilient retrofitting projects.